Relieved
by LF7
Summary: And, sometimes she wonders if her heart is on crack. Dasey.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys. Just a little oneshot for ya. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek**

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**Relieved**

"Don't," she says, immediately piercing a hole through the thick tension surrounding the two. He had her backed up against the wall. They were breathing hard, their chests moving up and down, and his face, yeah, it was dangerously close to hers.

"Don't what?" He whispers. And all she's thinking is when did they start whispering?

She shakes her head (and it's scary how that small movement forces her nose to brush his). "Just don't, Derek. It always ends like this."

And, suddenly in a move so fast that she jumped, he bangs his fists against the wall on either side of her head.

"Derek, what the hell! That was _really_ close to my face!"

He ignores her (naturally). "I'm just so sick of this."

"Well, it's not my usual cup of tea either, Derek, but you know," She cups her hands in front of her eyes. "Welcome to my life."

He backs away, pacing in front of her. He wiggles his arm as if trying to rid himself of this disgusting feeling. "Well, how do you usually deal with this?"

"Um," She pulls her hair behind her ears (because she is honestly taking this situation as serious as possible). "Well, as of lately..."

He looks at her, eyes hopeful. Eyes that she cannot disappoint.

She looks down when she says. "Not at all."

He huffs out this big sigh and pulls at his hair. She has to do something.

"B-but, at the beginning, when we had first moved here, I-I tried... avoidance for a bit."

"Avoidance?" He raised his eyebrow at me and smirked. "You were _avoiding_ me?"

She rolls her eyes.

He continues, "I think you've confused the word _avoidance_ with the word _confrontation_."

"Oh, look at Triple D using the big words." She puffs out his shirt and he rolls his eyes. And she does _not_ notice how he _doesn't_ remove her hands.

"Casey, please, this is serious." He pinches the bridge of his nose (you know, that thing he does - in which no way will she ever admit to knowing he does only when he's super frustrated).

"Okay, sorry," She backs her head against the wall and thinks. After a few moments she added, "Well, I also tried dating."

His eyes widened and stares at her in fear.

She quickly continues, "Other people, Derek."

"Oh," And she can see the relief oozing from his poors. And, that _doesn't_ hurt. "That could work. Yeah, let's-let's do that."

And then, he's gone so fast she wasn't sure he was ever there.

xxXXxx

"How in the _hell_ did you end up at the same place as me?"

Derek's face is bright red and screams everything but, 'Geeze, Case, I'm so glad you're here!'

Casey's eyes widen in disbelief. "Well, sor-ry, _I_ didn't pick the place. Sam did!"

"Which brings me to the next point," He hasn't stopped yelling yet. "You picked Sam!"

She shrinks. She definitely knew that was going to be a problem, but she had planned on him never finding out. That plan kind of fell through.

"Okay, _yes_, I am fully aware of the Male Code whatever," He balls up his fist and sucks in his cheeks as she continues, "And, _yes_, I know I've already dated him. But, I figured the distraction worked so well the first time, so the chances of it working again…"

Derek walks a few feet away and at first she was scared he wasn't coming back, but then he hastily spins around and says. "Okay. Enjoy your… date."

And, sometimes she wonders if her heart is on crack.

xxXXxx

"OH, Hello! I didn't know you guys were here!" Derek and his (plastic Barbie imitator) date had somehow shimmied there way over to Sam and Casey's booth. He stands there with this huge fake-surprised grin.

Casey shoots him a look of death and says point blankly, "Yes, you did."

"Oh, Casey," He lightly punches her chin. "You're such a jokester."

Sam looks back and forth from Casey and Derek and then voices slyly, "Well, hey, since you're here why don't we double?"

Casey kicks him. "Sam!"

Sam mouths 'What' and rubs her arm with his hand in that (stupid) reassuring way.

"That sounds like an excellent idea Sammy boy." He ushers in his date and slides in next to her.

They all stare at each other until Derek goes, "Oh, my bad! Janice, this is Sam. Sam this is Janice."

Casey clears her throat and points her head to the sky.

Derek smiles. "Oh, sorry. Janice, this is the devil spawn. Don't get to close."

She opens her mouth to argue, but stops herself. That's how this whole thing started in the first place. She would not give him the satisfaction. This is the complete opposite of what's supposed to be happening right now.

And she does _not_ miss the look he gets when she doesn't respond.

Janice hesitantly smiles and says shyly, "Uh, my name's – my name's Claire."

"So, Sammy," Derek steals a fry off Casey's plate and she slaps it away. "What were you guys talking about?"

Sam stares at Derek for one intense minute and then replies, "We were actually talking about getting back together."

This, however, was news to Casey. She whips her head up at him and he lightly kicks her foot. Now, she gets it. She smiles.

Derek, however, does not. "You guys are what?"

"Getting back together." Sam repeats seriously.

Casey says, "It was my fault anyway that it ended in the first place. And, over such a dumb reason. I mean, I think I just forgot how much I truly lov-"

"Oh, yeah! Well, me and uh, Janice here, were thinking of the same thing." He wraps his arm around Janice and pulls her nice and close.

Janice's face turns a pinkish color and yells, "My name's Claire."

Casey squints her eyes and shakes her head. She can't believe this is happening. Derek was ruining her distraction time. She feels Sam place his arm around her as well and turns to look at him. Sam gives her this look and she nods. He leans down and kisses her. And, it wasn't any little petty kiss.

"Okay, enough, Sam, dammit! Casey, we're leaving!" Derek hops up, pulls Casey's arm, and forces her out of the store leaving Janice with Sam.

After a few seconds, Sam hesitantly waves at her and goes, "Hi, Janice,"

"My name is Claire."

"Yeah, whatever," He slides out, grabs Casey's purse and leaves.

xxXXxx

"Say something."

He hates the silent treatment, which is exactly why she's giving it to him.

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Casey, I'm sorry. I just," He blows out a huge breath as he steps on the brake to stop at the red light. "I don't know. I was just-"

"Jealous?" Casey's body is turned completely away from Derek and she is looking out the window, arms folded.

He laughs. "Yeah, okay, Casey. Derek Venturi doesn't _do_ jealous."

"Well, Derek Venturi also doesn't _do_ Casey McDonald either, now does he?" She watches his face out of the reflection of the window and watches his face turn bright red.

They don't talk for the duration of the trip home.

"Ugh! _And_, I don't have my freaking purse!"

Derek looks back at her sheepishly.

xxXXxx

When they get inside everyone is asleep. Casey turns on him as soon as he hangs up his coat. "Okay, Derek, look," She places her hands on her hips. "I've thought about it and I've thought about it. And, the only solution - the only way we can solve this… tension is if you take me out on a date."

Derek stiffens. "A what now?"

"A date, Derek. A real date. Just you and me. No doubles. No parties. A date."

"A date… with me?"

"Derek, pay attention! Could you at least pretend to be serious for a minute?" She snaps.

"That's um," He laughs nervously. "That's a… _big_ step you're taking right there. Big big. Huge."

"Well, someone needs to take it!" She exclaims, pushing him against a wall (which really, is the source of all their problems). "And since _you're_ too much of a coward to do it, clearly I have to step in and intervene."

"Coward!" He places his face right in her personal space. Daring her. "Now I _know_ you're not talking 'bout me!"

"Then be there. Tomorrow. Seven o'clock. Don't even think about being late. And, if you so much as think of standing me up, you're dead."

Derek smirks. "Can't really stand you up if we live in the same house now, can I?"

She continues to stare him down until he announces, "Okay, okay. No standing up-ige. I got it."

She heads up the stairs and says without turning around, "And, wear something… _not_ ugly. Could you please?"

"You kidding me?" He follows her up the stairs. "I dress like a prince."

"Yeah, the Prince of Ugly Clothes World." She squeals. "And, stop! You're so gross. Perv."

Honestly, he couldn't help grabbing her butt as he walked behind her up the stairs. 'Cause he has a date with Casey McDonald. And _she_ asked _him_.

xxXXxx

"Seriously! Ice Princess get down stairs or I'm leaving you!" Derek yells out to Casey. He quickly places his hands in his pocket because they won't stop shaking.

"I'm coming! Just chill!"

"If you're not down here in –"

And she catches his eye. He glances over her outfit. Her tight jean dress, that barely covers her butt, clings to her in the best and also worst way possible. He looks back up and she has way too many buttons unbuttoned.

"Casey," She looks up at him smirking. "Get the hell back upstairs and change."

She rolls her eyes and continues her descend down the stairs. "Shut up, Derek!"

"I am _so_ completely serious."

"I know you are, Derek. And, you're just lucky I'm not kicking your ass for thinking you can control me." She grabs her coat and begins putting it on.

Nora and George both look up from the couch. Nora's legs are across George's lap and she's flipping through the channels. Nora says while looking back at the TV. "Casey, button up your dress."

"Mom! It's fine!" Casey says, in utter disbelief. Was the world against her? Is it a crime to be beautiful?

"Listen to your mother, Casey." George replies.

Derek laughs.

She glares at him muttering, "Asshole."

"Where are you guys off too? A party?" Nora asks flipping through the channels.

Casey begins buttoning her dress. "Nah, Derek's taking me out on a date?"

Nora says. "Oh, that's nice."

"Casey, you only buttoned one button."

"Derek, would you just _shut up_!"

"Wait," Nora's head jerks to the front door and says, "He's taking you on a _what_!"

"A date." Casey looks at them as if they were really slow.

Derek chimes in with a, "You know, that place a guy takes a girl and they go eat food. And they may or may not have sex after."

Casey places her hands on her hips and says, "Don't even."

George and Nora shake their heads in confusion. "I'm sorry. You guys are dating?"

"NO!" Derek screams. When Casey gives him a hurt look he replies with, "We're going on _a_ date. One. Uno. Singular."

"Which if turns out well could turn into two." Casey says.

Derek rolls his eyes. "Doubt it."

"I'm sorry did I miss something here? You guys are stepsiblings!" Nora shouts.

"Yes, mom. But, Derek and I have tried everything to relieve this tension around us and this is the only thing left. It never hurts to try. Just to see where it goes. And, trust us mom, if it ends badly we won't let this effect the family… much."

Nora thinks about it and then realizes she really has nothing to say. George gets up and says, "Now, Derek, need I remind you-"

"Oh, dad, please don't," Derek covers his face with his hands. "We've already did the sex talk thing. I got it. I could end up poor and alone playing child support on 5 kids. I understand."

"Yeah, but this is different."

Derek huffs, "How?"

"This girl lives right across the hall from you."

Casey nods. "That's true."

"Ugh, Casey, let's just go." He pushes her out the door as fast as he can.

xxXXxx

"This quite possibly may have been the _worst_ date I've ever been on in my entire life!"

Derek rolls his eyes. "Not hard. Considering you've been on like 2."

They walk up the porch and stop as she continues to yell at him." I mean, _first_, you don't even open the frickin' car door for me."

"I've told you three times already! Nobody does that anymore!"

"And, then you didn't even let me chose what I wanted to eat!" She continues listing on her finger, very hotly. Honestly, she loved that he ordered for her. It was insanely hot. And, extremely delicious. She could've melted when he took control like that.

"Because, Casey," And suddenly he's very tired. "I knew you were gonna order that really expensive crap you always order when we go there and sor-ry, but, I wanted to eat too!"

"Selfish!" She points a finger in her face. "You only think about yourself!"

Derek looks at her in shock and grabs her finger. "I'm selfish! You invented selfish!"

"If by invented you mean ARE NOT, then yeah! I guess I did!" She huffs. "And, let go of me."

"No, it's always Casey this and Casey that. 'Oh, I have a dance competition!' 'Oh, I just broke up with my boyfriend for the gazillionth time' 'Oh, I-"

"Oh, yeah. Well, that's no better than you, buddy. You're worst than me."

"Not possible." Derek says.

"Very possible. Insanely possible. I don't think you've said one nice thing to me all da-"

Derek grabs her face and kisses her. He places his other hand on her waist and pulls her closer. If she hadn't melted earlier she was definitely gone now. She places her hands on his cheek and deepens the kiss. He pulls away and says, "Despite your… Casey-ness, I had a really great time."

Casey smiles. "I did, too."

Derek wants so bad to roll his eyes at her, because only a minute before had she been complaining like a banshee, but he holds it in and lets her go. He walks into the house.

"Der-ek! You did _not_ just slam the door in my face!"

He smiles. Tension relieved.

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**Review!... I've got candy!! :) **

**Laura :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Haha. I was extremely bored. So, i figured, why not make another chapter to this story. I always have a lot of fun writing this. So, enjoy. **

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"So," Nora begins with a (failed) casual tone. She looks over at Casey across from her, who is quietly eating her Cheerios one cheerio at a time. Casey looks up at her and rolls her eyes. "How'd your little outing go last night?"

Casey smirks. "Outing? You mean, my _date?_" And, just to rub it in she adds. "With _Derek_?"

And, Nora pulls in a breath and shuts her eyes, thinking earnestly, _I am a concerned, supportive mother. I am a concerned, supportive mother. _

"Yeah, how'd that go?"

Casey shrugs. "Eh,"

Nora (almost at the point of insanity) replies, "Eh? It was just 'eh.'"

"Yeah," Casey stuffed another spoonful in her mouth. "Well, I mean, he did kiss me. So, I guess it's more of an OK."

Nora eyes widen. _I am a concerned, supportive mother. I am a concerned, supportive mother. _

"Oh, so you-you guys had your first kiss?"

Casey snorts. "Please."

And, either she just doesn't get it or Casey's being a total pain in her ass.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Casey rolls her eyes. And, honestly, if she rolls her eyes one more time Nora will be seconds away from spending the next 3 to 5 in jail. "It just means it wasn't our first kiss, alright?"

Nora nods. She pulls her hair behind her ears and grabs her left arm with her right hand, rubbing up and down, in a nervous manner.

Casey looks at her mom. "You don't have to do this, Mom. I know it's strange."

"Yeah, I know." She bites her lip. "Do you… do you guys plan on doing it again?"

"I don't know, God, Mom," Casey says annoyed (yet somehow polite). "If I keep talking my cereal's gonna get all soggy. And, I _hate_ soggy cheerios."

And, all Nora's thinking is what did Derek do to her daughter.

xxXXxx

"So, uh, what's up, Derek?" George says from Derek's doorway.

Without even looking up from his comic book, Derek states, "We didn't have sex, Dad."

"_Oh, thank God."_

xxXXxx

"And, then he just kept talking and talking, and I mean, I know that's the point, since the majority of our relationship is over phone now, but God, my ear was getting third degree burn from my cell phone." Emily vents, peeling back a banana viciously. "I had to fake a family death to get him off the phone. And, _now_, he won't stop calling to make sure the death of my great-great aunt hasn't put me into a severe depression." She bites off the top angrily. "Like what is this?"

"Maybe he just cares about you, Em?" Casey considers.

"Yeah, but, it's-" She trails off as she sees Derek plop his tray down next to Casey, and sits down. "annoying." She finishes, almost whispering in confusion.

"Yeah, well, Sheldon loves you. And, I _thought_ you loved him. You _do_ still love him, don't you?" Casey says normally, (seeming to) not even recognizing Derek's presence.

Emily eyes Derek strangely. "Yeah – I mean, I think so. I mean, yes. Yes, I do." She watches Sam and Ralph plop their trays down on opposite sides of her.

Derek laughs. "Of course, Emily doesn't love Schlepper."

Emily narrows her eyes. "I'm sorry. What're you doing over here again?" She snatches back the Jello he attempted to steal off her lunch tray.

Derek just shrugs, so Casey answers, "We're dating."

Emily's eyes widen and her jaw drops.

"Woman, how many times do I have to tell you?" He exclaims exasperatedly. "We are not dating. We went on _one_ date." He looks at Emily, Sam, and Ralph pointedly and repeats. "One."

And, Casey just rolls her eyes and pulls back the saran wrap on her sandwich.

"You guys are dating?" Emily asks, her eyebrows almost reaching her hairline.

"No." She punches Derek in the stomach. And she answers, "Yes."

"So, that tension between the two of you it was all just,"

"Sexual." Derek finishes.

"It was not just sexual. I'm not entirely sure I even like you." Casey whines. Derek gives her a look, smirks and begins a conversation with his buddies.

"All this time you let me go on and on about Schle- I mean, Sheldon and you had something huge to tell me?"

"Emily, please, let's talk about something else."

Emily (totally disappointed) nods. For a minute she just taps her fingernails on the table. "Oh! Did you see the new guy?"

"Yes! Oh my gosh! Gorgeous!" And she does _not_ miss the way Derek stiffens. "I dropped my books earlier and he helped me pick them up and that whole same-book-grab-look-up-into-each-other's-eyes thing happened. Ugh! It was magical."

Derek looks over at her. "I'm right here."

And, she waves him off.

Emily squeals. "Did you get a name?"

"Theodore. But, his friends just call him Theo."

Emily claps her hands together. "He called you guys friends!"

"Well, after he said that, after the whole book-fiasco, I was like 'Bye, Theodore' and he was like 'Theo.' It had Nicholas Sparks written all over it."

"What kind of lame-ass name is Theodore?" Derek interjects.

Ralph laughs. Emily frowns and says, "Don't laugh at that."

Derek says, "He can laugh at whoever he wants to. And, we just happen to want to laugh at lame-ass Theodore."

Emily narrows her eyes and goes, "So, if you guys aren't dating, what're you doing here, Derek?"

"That is an excellent point, Emily." Casey says.

Derek sets his jaw, grabs his tray, and leaves.

"Bye, Derek." And then Emily adds (in just as mocking of a tone) as Sam and Ralph get up. "Bye, Derek's posse."

He gives them the finger.

xxXXxx

"What the hell, Casey?"

She looks down at the hand on her arm and back up at him. "OK, make this quick. I have like two minutes to get to the language hallway and that's like on the other side of the school."

"What's going on with you and Theodore?"

Casey laughs. "Nothing. I met him, like, an hour ago."

"Didn't sound like nothing!" He said getting louder.

"Well, you were the one who said we weren't dating in the first place! So, I don't really understand why this is a problem for you!" Derek sucks in his cheeks, as they begin to attract attention from their volume. "You made it perfectly clear that you only wanted to go on ONE date with me. If you were trying to send a message, message received!"

Derek backs her into the lockers. "I wasn't trying to send any message! I'm just saying we've been on ONE date."

"Look," Casey starts calmly, when she notices their (oh, so, familiar) position. "I'm sorry I'm making such a scene. I know we only went on that date thingy to relieve the tension and there was no mention in whether or not we'd continue or whatever, so you're free to do what you want. And, I guess, I'm free to do what I want, too."

And then, he grabs her face, pulling her to him, smashing his lips down on hers in front of everyone in the hallway. He pulls back and whispers, "No. No, you're not."

And walks away.

xxXXxx

When Derek enters the house after hockey practice the first thing he does is barge into Casey's room, and sits on her bed.

"Okay," She looks up at him from her computer chair and raises an eyebrow. "This is how it goes. After our date, the tension was relieved, yes. However, it seems to have only left more tension. I mean, now I care who you like and I want to sit next to you at lunch and it's all just _disgusting_. So, I'm thinkin' the only way to get rid of this new tension is to keep dating."

Casey lets out a (sarcastically) surprised, "Really?" She stands up and takes a step toward him. "That thought had _never _occured to me."

He continues, missing her tone completely. "Yeah, well," He looks (strangely) bothered by this. "Unfortunately, we're gonna have to keep dating until all this tension is completely gone."

"Unfortunately,"

He nods.

"And, when is completely?" She takes another step toward him.

"Until I don't want to fight with you." He begins listing off on his fingers. "'Till I don't want to be near you. 'Till I don't want to jump your bones in the hallway. 'Till I can go at least a minute without thinking about you."

She steps closer. "And, do I get any say in this?"

He shakes his head. "None."

She giggles. She's close enough where she is standing right in front of him. She grabs his shoulders and straddles him, whispering, "You're plan is flawed, Venturi. _Completely_ could take a really long time."

He shakes his head solemnly while placing his hands on her waist, scooting her closer. "That's just a price I'm willing to take." And, as her lips brush against his he adds, "You know, for the good of humanity and everything."

"Yeah," She whispers against his lips. "For humanity. And everything."

He smiles as she begins moving her lips along his.

And, he thinks to himself (for just a second) maybe _completely_ is further away than he expected.

* * *

**Review, **

**Laura:) **


	3. Chapter 3

**I changed a bit. **

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"Whoa, hottie at 10 o'clock." Trevor states, holding his arm out to block the rest of Derek's entourage from moving forward. Everyone looks in that direction and holds back a smile. Sam, however, doesn't hold back and laughs. He mutters under his breath, "Poor thing."

Derek stiffens. "Who her?" He points over to where Casey is walking with Kendra and Emily, laughing.

Trevor licks his lips. "Hells, yes."

All the guys take a step back sighing in sync. Ralph grabs Derek's shoulder and mutters. "New guy, remember? Be easy."

Derek shrugs him off and turns his attention back on Trevor. Trevor (who – maybe didn't know it, but definitely was – was getting interviewed to be a new member to Derek's entourage) turns to one of the guys and asks, "Think she'd put out?"

"Whew," Sam mumbles to the guys. "Strike two."

Derek glares at him and Trevor's smile falters. He laughs nervously, "What?"

"She's off limits."

"Oh, my bad bro," He claps Derek's shoulder. "Sister or girlfriend?"

Derek turns bright red and hears Sam mutter to the group, "And, Strike three."

Trevor nods his head in understanding. "By the look on your face I'm definitely gonna go with girlfriend."

And, everyone sighs and shakes their heads in pity. Ralph pouts; he really liked Trevor, too. His mom packed him candy for lunch.

Derek twitched nervously. "Girl-girlfriend? Um, I mean… We-we-we… We don't-don't use that word, per se."

Trevor smirked.

And, Derek knew instantly that he hated the guy.

"I mean, I would say that we're dating." He finishes. And, honestly, this is a really huge step for him - admitting that they were dating.

"Really?" Trevor says mischievously. "Exclusively?"

"I mean, it's not set in… like, she could… but, she would… I mean, it's kind of understood that we…" Derek swallows. Wasn't it like a known rule across the universe that you don't ask Derek Venturi personal questions? Especially if pertaining to Casey McDonald? What planet did this guy fall off of?

And, all he could think about was punching this kid in the face. Yeah, there was definitely zero room for him in his entourage.

"It's simple really." Trevor (boldly) folds his arms over his chest. "Are you guys dating or do you guys go on dates? 'Cause those are two _very_ different things."

Derek purses his lips. Uh, duh. He was just very recently convincing people of the same concept only weeks earlier.

"I mean for all you know," Trevor continues, apparently not getting the telepathic messages being sent at him at the speed of light. "She's dating other people all the time, and you don't even know it."

Derek narrows his eyes and balls up his fists.

Then, Trevor adds sarcastically, "And, by that I mean, 'going on dates with'."

xxXXxx

"So, let me get this straight." Kendra says. "You've been going out for a month. You've kissed him. You've even had sex with him. And yet, you have _never_ held his hand before?"

Casey blushes like ten different shades of red all at one time. She stops by the huge fountain and sets her bags down. "Well, _technically_ I have not had sex with him since we started actually dating."

Emily's eyes widen while taking a bit out of her soft pretzel. "Wait, Casey McDonald had sex when she wasn't in a serious, committed relationship? Is this a world gone mad?"

"It's different with us," Casey insists. "We're not your average…well, you know,"

"Couple?" Kendra offers, leaning on the fountain as well.

Casey shrugs. "Sure, that."

"Well, you can say that again." Emily states, joining them. "Strange is more like it."

Casey purses her lips, offended. "We are not strange."

Emily exchanges a look with Kendra. "Right."

"Don't placate me." Casey says, honestly upset.

"Then, _don't_ use big words we don't understand."

Casey rolls her eyes. She's got to get herself a new set of friends.

"If you were going out with Derek you'd understand."

Kendra scoffs. "Newsflash, Casey: We've all gone out with Derek. And, it was never this complicated."

Casey opens her mouth to refute this when she hears a huge crash to the right of them. They all look over and gasp. Some guy was lying on the floor, holding his face in pain , while Derek (who clearly caused this pain) stood over him, fixing his collar on his leather jacket. Casey looks back up at Derek just as he turns and happens to catch her glance. She shakes her head disappointedly and rolls her eyes. Derek rolls his eyes back. And, she huffs, watching him walk away, leaving the boy on the ground.

"He's so immature."

"Yeah," Kendra agrees. "But, he's hot." And then she adds, "And, so is that babe on the floor. Damn."

"I wonder if that boy's okay?" Casey wonders. "He probably didn't even do anything."

"Who cares?" Kendra picked up her bags. "Aren't you always s'posed to be on Derek's side?"

Emily replies, as Casey gets up to head over to the scene. "If there's one thing that's a definite thing Kendra, it's that Casey McDonald is _never_ on Derek's side."

xxXXxx

"Hey," Casey touches the boy's arm. "Hey, are you okay?"

The boy groans and slowly attempts to sit up. Casey assists him. The boy opens his eyes. And, the irony of this situation is almost too funny to laugh.

"What?" Casey questions.

"You're 'Hottie at 10 o'clock'."

"I'm what?" She raises an eyebrow, grabs his face and tilts it up to look at his eye. The swelling doesn't look to bad. "Do you have a concussion?"

"Never mind." He laughs. "You're Derek's girlfriend."

She stiffens. "Girlfriend? He-he said that? He-he used… Did he – did he use that word sp-specifically?"

"Wow. You guys are exactly the same." He laughs, holding out his hand. "Trevor McClain."

She reaches out to shake his hand. "Hey, I'm a "Mc" too." She smiles a wide smile.

And, she does _not_ miss the way Trevor's eyes seem to sparkle in the glow of the mall's fluorescent lights.

"See, I knew even from a distance that we had something in common."

And, he does _not_ miss the way she doesn't say anything about the fact that he hasn't let go of her hand yet.

She laughs again. "You are so full of it."

"No, no. I am being totally honest." He jokes. For some reason, he wanted to keep her laughing. It was like the most beautiful sound he ever heard. "It was like some force of gravity forcefully caused my eyes to gaze upon you. Like, we were meant to be and all that Romeo jazz."

She understood now.

Casey smiles and tilts her head to the side. "Is this why he punched you?"

"Maybe," He winked. "Maybe not."

She giggled, "Well, I think –"

_"Casey!"_

They look over to the loud sound of their intruder and notice Derek standing there fuming, fists clenched - backed by the rest of his crew. She looks down at her and Trevor's hands and instantly lets go.

"It was nice meeting you, Trevor."

"Likewise," She stands up from her kneeling position and he adds, standing up as well, "You know, I never did find out what kind of "Mc" you were."

She laughs, placing her bags back on her wrist. "I'm a McDonald."

"Mm," Trevor says. "That's the best kind."

She rolls her eyes playfully and smiles.

_"Casey!"_ Derek shouts at her again and she looks over at him pissed - the feminist in her oozing out of her every pore.

"Better go." Trevor suggests. "Your boyfriend beckons."

And, she purses her lips.

xxXXxx

"What the hell was that?" He yells as soon as she's within 30 feet.

"What the hell was _what_, Derek?" She places her hands on her hips adamantly.

"What the hell was that flirty-McGoo-fest that was going on over there?"

"Oh, please, Derek." She rolls her eyes. "I don't know who you think you are, yelling at me like this?"

"I'm you're… ugh!" Derek rubs his hands through his hair. "You're just so frustrating!"

"Why! Why am I so frustrating to you? Why is this relationship so unnecessarily complicated?" Casey cries. If they didn't have the whole mall's attention before, they definitely do now. "And, don't you _ever_ think about interrupting one of my conversations like that again? Who do you think you are?"

Kendra and Emily had finally made their way over to where she was. They stood behind her.

"Sorry," He does look somewhat embarrassed for that. "But, what do you want me to do? Sit back and let you continue flirting with Trevor McAssFace. Um, no thanks."

"I wasn't flirting." She scoffs.

Derek waves his arms in frustration. "You were holding his hand."

He had a point there, but she wasn't backing down. "So, what, Derek? You still "mack" on all your groupies at school."

He clenches his jaw. "That's different."

"Oh yeah, how?"

"I'm not planning on doing anything with them."

"And I am?" She shrieks. Out of the corner of her eye she sees a mall cop deciding whether or not to come break up the fight. It looks as though she was too interested to.

He yells back, "I don't know, are you?"

There was this brief moment where none of them said anything.

"Look," Derek starts again, a million times calmer than seconds before. "Just... Are we exclusive?"

This caught Casey completely off guard. That was completely random. They never really talked or defined or anything them before, and to do it in the middle of the mall surrounded by all their friends wasn't the most ideal spot.

She coughs. "Do you not want to be exclusive?"

"Don't do that." Derek whines. "Don't do that whole reverse make me answer the question thing and have all the pressure forced back on me. No. I'm asking you. Are. We. Exclusive."

She swallows and looks back at Kendra and Emily and then to Derek's entire entourage and then to all the people watching them in the food court of the mall. She bites her lip.

"Yes," She nods. "I would like to think we are."

And, it's as if a million tons of weights have disappeared off Derek, because his entire spirit lifts and all the stress lines disappear and he smirks as if to not let out a huge wacky grin.

"Okay," He sighs, relieved. "Good. That's good. I mean... whatever."

She smiles at his dorky nervousness.

"See you at home?" He ruffles his hair.

She smiles. "See you at home."

He bends down, kisses her chastely, and turns to walk away.

And, all everyone else is thinking is, why do they even bother watching TV anymore when clearly this is so much better.

xxXXxx

"You know what I think?" Emily looks up from her book, from her spot on the ground, leaning against the coffee table, and watches Casey.

"What's that?" Casey asks, continuing to paint my nails, sprawled out on the couch.

"I think that Nicholas Sparks is the saddest man alive. Like, ever."

Casey laughs along with Kendra, who's sitting on the recliner reading about some celebrity's love life in her magazine. They hadn't had a girl's night like this in a long time. God knows they needed it.

"I'm serious." She turns a page in the novel The Last Song unhappily. "A very, very sad little man."

Casey can't help put giggle at her friend. She moves on to her next finger. "Just keep reading. It gets better."

"Doubt it."

And, then Derek enters through the front door and it's as if somebody pointed their magic wand, because Emily can't seem to find any other logical reason for why Casey's staring at him like he's the center of the whole freakin' universe.

He drops his coat on the ground and Emily watches as his gaze immediately finds Casey's while Casey quickly looks away and goes for a third coating.

And, she wonders why they act this way around each other. They have been going out for, like, a month.

Kendra smirks up at him. "Derek,"

And, he nods at her. "Ladies,"

It's silent for a quick second until Kendra announces, "Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want your beloved chair back or something?"

"No, no. It's cool." He walks over to the couch and swats at Casey's legs. "Move it, Klutz."

"Jerk." But, she moves anyways. He sits down next to her, leaving quite a bit of space.

"So, what are you girls up to?"

Emily narrows his eyes at him. "Well, we _were_ enjoying ourselves with a little guy-free girl's night. But, then you showed up."

"Wow, so feisty." He laughs. "When'd you jump on Casey's Anti-Derek boat of hatred? I remember when you used to worship the very ground I walked on."

We all gasped. He did not just go there. Casey slapped him really hard on the chest.

"Ow, what was that for?"

"How dare you mention that!" Casey exclaimed. "You know that was a dark period for Emily."

Derek scoffs. "Period? Try, like, entire childhood."

She smacks him again.

"Casey, what the fuck? Cut it out." He rubs at the spot on his chest, glaring at her.

"Don't tell me what to do. I can't believe you're so insensitive."

"Me insensitive? You insensitive!"

"Nice, Derek. What are you Tarzan now or is that really how good your English grammar is? And watch your language. It's not attractive."

And, as she watched them (completely sure that this fight wasn't about her anymore) she doesn't actually really see any less tension than from before. So, how exactly was their whole dating thing solving anything again?

She tunes back in and realizes they have reached a whole other topic. She looks over at Kendra. Kendra hasn't moved an inch. It's like this whole situation doesn't bother her. Like, it's normal or something. And, in a way, in a sad, unfortunate way, this was her normal.

She didn't know how she felt about that.

"Derek, you ruined my nails!"

"I didn't do anything. Maybe you shouldn't have smacked me like three times and-"

Emily clears her throat. They look at her. "I _severely _hope that you guys are different together when you're alone. Because this," She wags her finger at the both of them. "This is just unnatural."

xxXXxx

Derek watches his door slowly creak open and then Casey squeezing her body through it.

He smirks at her and she rolls her eyes, crawling up his bed, and leaning against his chest. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her in tighter. "Thought you guys were having your little girl's night extravaganza or some shit."

"We are. It's just that," She leans her head back onto his shoulder. "We haven't… well, for lack of better word - 'relieved tension' in about a week. And, I thought what better time than now."

"Now? At," He looks at his alarm clock. "Three o'clock in the morning?"

She nods.

"How are we supposed to," And, he makes air quotes just like she did. "'Relieve tension' at three o'clock in the morning?"

"Well, I don't know," She reaches her hand out to grab his and then thinks better of it. She places her hand back in her lap and twiddles her thumbs. "We don't actually know a lot about each other, so let's start with the basics."

"Please, Case," He flips his hair out of his face. "We've lived together for 3 years. We know everything there is to know about each other."

She raises her eyebrow, skeptically. "What's my favorite color?"

"Pink," He says immediately.

"Yeah, well." She huffs. "That one was an easy one."

He laughs grabbing her hand, and she wonders how long it'll take before he lets go. "Face it, McDonald. I know you like the back of my hand." He holds his other hand (you know, the one that's not _still_ holding hers) and holds it up to his face and makes a face. "Oh, well, that's new."

Casey throws her head back and laughs and he smiles, proud that he made her laugh that hard. He watches her face as she laughs; how careless she is with him. Her hair was all balled up in a bun, strands everywhere, no make-up on. She was gorgeous, and she didn't even know it.

This was one of the very few times they had actually ever been openly affectionate towards one another. Most of anything they did together almost always included fighting, but sometimes, on that rare occasion, when it's late at night like this, they would just lay in each others' arms conversing.

"What?" She catches him staring at her.

"Nothing," He rubs his thumb across her hand.

Casey laughs, "Well, you know. Kendra and Emily think it's a little strange that we're 'relieving tension', and that we've even slept together and-"

"Wait, they think it's strange that we're 'relieving tension'?" He frowns. "It doesn't seem like it."

"No, they think it's strange that we've done all that and that well," She looks away. "That this is the first time that you've ever really held my hand before."

She feels his hand stiffen in hers and she wishes she hadn't said anything.

"Oh, well," He runs his tongue along his teeth – something he only does when he's out of words and is about to shutdown.

"It doesn't really matter. I was just saying." She looks up at him and sighs. "Derek, don't do it. Don't go to that Derek Place you always retreat to."

He drops her hand. "What Derek place?"

"See, you're already there!" She sits up and crosses her legs crocodile style. She smoothes out her hair ineffectively and considers leaving. "Just forget it."

"Casey, what the hell are you talking about?" He looks at her sharply.

"Your Derek Place," Casey says. "You know, that place you have? Like, you'll be totally sweet and fine one minute and then you'll be totally shut down and closed to the world the next."

Derek narrows his eyes and folds his arms. "I do _not_ have a Derek Place."

"You do _so_,"

And, then she stares him down until he gives.

"Okay, so maybe I have a Derek place." He points at Case. "But, if I have a Derek Place, then you have a Casey Place."

She rolls her eyes annoyed.

"But, that's okay," He promises, crawling on top of her. "'Cause I _like_ Casey Place."

She giggles as he brought his mouth to her neck.

"I'm serious." He mumbles against her. "It's all hot, and sexy and… hot."

"You're wide range of adjectives impresses me, Derek." Casey laughs, (fake) pushing him off of her. "Besides, you're just saying that to get in my pants."

"Of course, not." He says sarcastically, not in the least bit ashamed. His arm wraps around her waist, crushing their bodies together. "However, we have already technically slept together so, I don't understand why we have to wait now that we are actually um, 'relieving tension'. "

"Because Derek, I don't just jump into bed with anyone,"

He raises his eyebrow.

"That I'm dating, I mean." She continues. "I'm not even entirely sure that I even like you. And I'm a relationship type girl, so I know what I'm doing here. And, the next step in our relationship is definitely _not_ sex. We are just not there yet."

Derek begins pressing his lips against her neck again, heading southward. "I think we are." He brushes his hands along the sides of her body.

She holds back a moan. "We're not."

"Then tell me, Obi-wan Kanobi, what is this next step?"

Casey replies looking down at him, "Well, logically, I think the next step would be being able to acknowledge that I'm your girlfriend."

Derek freezes right above her chest. He sits up and stops his whole seduction strategy. "Yeah, I don't think we're there yet."

Casey laughs.


End file.
